Saturday, November 21, 2015

Two Hands

Get ready to exercise both sides of your brain for this
installment. You’ll need the logical
left side and the artistic right side to fully appreciate this particular puzzle
pair pairing and potion pair pairing, and puzzle and potion pairing. Hmmm, perhaps I should explain myself.

A puzzling friend of mine, who also hails from Houston,
Texas, has been quite successful developing his unique ideas into reality, with
the help of many different artists. Matt
Dawson has contributed designs and concepts behind the scenes on many well
known works. His collaboration with
Yasutoshi Makishi on the Pagoda puzzle series even spawned his own puzzle
moniker, “MakDaw”. Another of his highly successful
collaborations was with the brilliant puzzle maker Robert Yarger, who has his
own well known moniker, “Stickman”. This
pair of puzzlers did not, thankfully, lead to any more monikers, such as “DawMan”
or “StickDaw”, but you never know.

The Ambidextrous Hexduos by Matt Dawson and Robert Yarger

Matt
worked with Robert in preparation for IPP 30 in Japan to prepare his exchange
puzzle that year, the “Ambidextrous Hexduos”, which he designed and which
Robert brought to life. The “ambis” are
a pair of small cubes, which have a secret opening mechanism, of course, but
with quite a twist. As the name might
suggest, the trick involves a bit of ambidextrous dexterity with this duo of
right rhombohedrons. In fact, neither
box can be opened without the other, simultaneously. The majority of the puzzles were made from basswood
for the exchange; however, Robert also created a limited set of pairs made with
exotic wood inlays left over from prior Stickman designs. These inlayed versions have strikingly
colorful, contrasting angled stripes around each box which make for a very
distinctive look. The boxes are
moderately difficult to solve and present a unique challenge, and a great aha moment
once you understand how they work. Your
artistic and logical brain will enjoy the beauty and mechanics at work by this pair
of puzzler’s puzzles.

One box opened ... ?

Of course, we need a well crafted cocktail to compliment these
dynamic duos, says the right brain.
Actually we need two cocktails, replies the left brain – one for me and
one for you. How creative of you,
compliments the right brain. It’s only
logical, demurs the left. The left brain
then reaches for the “Right Hand” cocktail, a combination of aged rum, Carpano
Antica sweet vermouth, Campari, and 2 dashes of chocolate bitters. This tasty treat was created by Michael
McIlroy from Milk and Honey and Little Branch in New York City. The left brain analyzes these ingredients and
suggests that the combination of a base spirit (rum here), vermouth and Campari
makes this a variation of the classic Negroni cocktail. The right simply enjoys this incredible
variation, which balances the rich flavors so well, and calls it, “just right.”

The Right Hand by Michael McIlroy

On the other hand, Sam Ross, also from Milk
and Honey and Little Branch in NYC, suggests using a fine bourbon as the base
spirit here instead of rum (or gin, as in a classic Negroni). His variation, featured in Jim Meehan’s fantastic
PDT Cocktail Book, is known as the “Left Hand” cocktail. He describes it as a marriage of a Manhattan
(rye and sweet vermouth) and a Negroni.
Of course, a bourbon based negroni is also known as a “Boulevardier”, a
drink we have discussed in detail previously for the “Red, White and Bourbon”
cocktail. The right brain thinks that it
is acceptable artistic license to rename the drink after the simple addition of
some chocolate bitters, as it reaches for the “Left Hand” cocktail.

The Left Hand by Sam Ross

While comparing these two different but so similar cocktails, the brains have a hard time deciding which they like better. The fine aged rum tastes almost like aged whiskey, but smoother (and you know how I love aged rum), while the bourbon adds a spicy kick which is so nice. Whether you prefer yours with gin, aged rum,
bourbon, or an altogether different base, this cocktail platform always seems
to work out. Now, as you contemplate
these excellent offerings, you are left (right?) with the age old drinking
problem of two hands, one mouth. If you’ve
solved the ambidextrous hexduos, however, you can probably work this one out as
well. Cheers.